This invention relates to a method and apparatus for depositing an oxide film on the surface of a wafer.
Conventionally, an oxygen ion or gas atmosphere has been used when depositing an oxide film on a wafer by reactive ion-beam sputtering. However, if oxygen gas is used, the merging of sputtered particles is insufficient to achieve the desired film formation. On the other hand, the presence of oxygen ions can potentially cause damage to the deposited film. In addition, the films produced by these conventional techniques have an undesirably low crystallinity since the film is formed with sputtered particles which react with an oxygen ion in flight to form an oxide which builds up between the wafer and the deposited material. Further, the use of an oxygen atmosphere causes the reaction to be carried out at high temperatures resulting in various problems.